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The United Nations human rights office voiced concern at what it called a “disturbing” trend of killing journalists in Brazil, after another reporter was found dead earlier this week.

The killing of Décio Sá, an investigative journalist reporting on local politics, corruption and organized crime, brings to at least four the number of reporters murdered in the South American nation so far this year. He was gunned down in a bar on April 23rd.

“We have long been concerned about the need for Brazilian human rights defenders, including journalists, to be able to conduct their work without fear of intimidation or worse,” he told a news conference in Geneva.

OHCHR welcomed the fact that state authorities have committed to conducting a thorough investigation and called for this and other similar cases to be treated as a major priority so that perpetrators are not emboldened by the prevailing lack of accountability for such crimes.

At the same time, it urged the Government to immediately implement protection measures to prevent any more such incidents.

A bill introduced into Congress in 2011, ordering police investigations into crimes against journalists to be conducted at a federal level, would be a step in the right direction, said Mr. Colville.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court took on one of the most important legal cases of this year when it heard arguments over Arizona’s “show me your papers” law, SB 1070.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue its ruling on SB 1070 in late June.

If the Court rules in favor of Arizona’s anti-immigrant law, it will effectively legalize the harassment and discrimination of an entire population – just because of the color of their skin or the accent with which they speak.

But if the majority of the Justices vote in our favor, they will stand up for the basic rights of millions of people of color.

Some of what was said by the conservatives on the Supreme Court during the oral argument was hardly encouraging. Justice Scalia compared immigrants to bank robbers. Chief Justice Roberts insisted that “this isn’t about racial profiling.”

As we know, this law is all about racial profiling.

Under this law anyone “reasonably suspect” of being here without immigration status has to be asked by law enforcement to produce their papers. If allowed to go into effect, citizens and immigrants alike, especially Latinos, will be treated as a suspect class.

What happens if the Supreme Court rules against us? There is hope. We saw it on the steps of the Court, where more than a thousand people rallied for justice in the hot sun. On the other side was a small band of 20 or so angry SB 1070 supporters screaming “nobody invited you here!” and “go back to your Third World armpit!” Our crowd was big, diverse, young and hopeful. The other group was none of these.

Changing the course of history has never been easy, and the fight for immigrant justice is no different. But the truth is that the number of angry extremists in this country is relatively small, and their days of blocking humane and sensible immigration reform are numbered.

Whatever radicals in Arizona or the Supreme Court decide, we will prevail. Let’s keep up the fight. Let’s continue to build the political power we need to win. And let’s know in our hearts that victory is not a matter of if, but a matter of when.

Mexico’s National Human Rights Commission, or CNDH, said 3 million minors between the ages of five and 17 work nationwide, nearly half of whom either receive no compensation or are paid in kind.

Most of these youths work to cover their basic needs and contribute to household income, are forced to abandon their studies, work excessively long hours and are at constant risk of injury or illness due to poor labor conditions, the country’s equivalent of an ombud’s office said in a statement Thursday, citing official figures.

The minors frequently are victims of violence and physical and psychological abuse and mistreatment while working on farms, in commerce and industry, the handicrafts sector and as domestic laborers, the commission added.

The statement, released ahead of the April 30 commemoration of Children’s Day in Mexico, said a national CNDH campaign is seeking to pressure government officials to eliminate the problem.

The commission said in 2011 it distributed more than 100,000 brochures and posters alerting children to their rights and responsibilities and held training workshops and courses at several institutions “to protect children in vulnerable situations and promote respect for their rights.”

“The only way to stamp out child labor, which violates minors’ rights and physical well-being, is through coordinated actions between authorities and society,” the statement said.

This week, Dream Activist brings us news of a ninth grader who is scheduled to be deported this coming Sunday. According to their petition:

Victoria was brought to the US when she was only 3 years old. Carina, Victoria’s mother wanted to give her little girl a better future, something she couldn’t do in Argentina. She worked hard to provide Victoria with everything she needed, including a good education.

Now, 14-year-old Victoria dreams of being able to stay in this country and go to college. She wants to become a lawyer or a veterinarian, something she decided when she was only in seventh grade. Her mother always told her that her only responsibility was to go to school and get good grades, and that she would do everything to make sure Victoria made it to college. But all that changed last December when ICE showed up at her mother’s job after she filed a restraining order against someone ICE was looking for.

Victoria and her mother were put in deportation proceedings and are now being told that they must leave the country on Sunday, April 29. Victoria has spent her last eleven birthdays in the US, but if deported she will be spending her fifteenth birthday, which is in a month, in a country she has no memory of.

Victoria has worked hard to always get the best grades, and has received several awards for her dedication and academic excellence. The US has invested in her education since pre-kinder and now as a ninth grader she is determined to go to law school. Several colleges have already expressed interest in having Victoria as a student. Even the Coast Guard has recognized Victoria’s value and contribution to this country. But ICE wants to deport her and shatter all her dreams.

In a letter that the group sent out on her behalf, Victoria writes

“I don’t really understand why we have to leave. My dad was sent back to Argentina almost a year ago and I miss him everyday. My aunt, Jordana, was in a jail for nine months and I didn’t get to see her at all. She finally came home a couple of weeks ago and our whole family was so happy. But now we have to leave and everyone is sad again…I want to stay here. I want to finish the 9th grade. I want to say bye to my friends and my teachers. I hope the President lets me stay.”

In June last year, ICE director John Morton outlined criteria for prosecutorial discretion in a memo, which called on ICE officials to consider a range of factors in determining whether an individual should be deported or not, such as prioritizing the deportations of hardened criminals – of which this 14 year old is not. So much for prosecutorial discretion.

Although ICE issued that directive almost a year ago, immigrants who meet the criteria, like Victoria, are subject to deportation. And, unfortunately, the Obama administration has broken records with the number of deportations under its watch.

If allowed to stay, Victoria would be eligible for the DREAM Act, legislation that would allow undocumented youth to earn legal status through either two years of college or military service. Sign the Dream Activist petition and help keep Victoria in the country she loves.

The United States Supreme Court is hearing arguments in Arizona v. United States, the Obama administration’s challenge to Arizona’s anti-immigration law, SB1070. What they won’t be hearing is what and who has fueled this discriminatory legislation.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) is one of the most dangerous groups in the country.

Along with like groups in the John Tanton network FAIR has written and pushed laws like SB1070.

Will justice triumph over racial profiling and discrimination fueled by supremacist and nativist fringe groups? We need to stand together in this most pressing time.

“She and Freddie are thrilled,” said the source. “They love their little girl more than anything in the world and know that love will only multiply. She is such a fantastic mom; it is just great news.”

Sarah and Freddie got married in 2002 after meeting on the set of I Know What You Did Last Summer in 1997. They welcomed their first child, Charlotte Grace, 2, in 2009.

After taking a break from the spotlight to be a mom, Gellar, 35, returned to TV last fall on he CW series, Ringer. While she’s at work, her husband acts as a stay at home dad, which is something that makes Gellar a bit jealous.

“He loves it. We fight over who gets to stay home,” Gellar had said of her husband. “You’d think it would be the opposite, that the parents would be like, ‘No, I’ll go to work!’ but he’s like, ‘You stayed home for two years! It’s my turn!’”

“He and Charlotte have too much fun,” she added. “I’m jealous!”

The new baby news has not yet officially been confirmed by the couple.

As Chicago’s all-Latina theater company approaches its 12th anniversary and launches its new community arts center Luna Central in Chicago, it is gearing up to take big steps toward expanding its national reach. Its upcoming world premiere of Los Angeles playwright Diane Rodriguez’s new play Living Large in a Mini Kind of Way is among the most notable opportunities that lie ahead for Teatro Luna to build its presence on the East and West Coasts. Obie award winner and TCG board member Diane Rodriguez mingles sassy comedy with a thought-provoking atypical immigration drama, illuminating timely, universal issues about identity and privilege. Luna brings its unique blend of humor and honesty to this hilarious and sharp exploration of the American Dream. Rodriguez, who will also direct the play, considers herself a mentor and champion of Teatro Luna, and has made a deep commitment to nurturing Teatro Luna’s relationship with the Los Angeles theater community.

“What excites me about working with the ladies of Teatro Luna,” Rodriguez says, “is that they have been working together for eleven years and have a vocabulary, a methodology and an audience.” Teatro Luna hopes Rodriguez’s excitement will be echoed by other LA theater professionals as it lays the groundwork for a Los Angeles world premiere of an original Teatro Luna devised project in February 2014.

Teatro Luna built its relationship with Rodriguez and other nationally-acclaimed artists with its groundbreaking LUNADAS reading series, providing a high-demand outlet for Latina playwrights to have their work developed. Though Teatro Luna is still seeking funding for artist travel accommodations, they find that opportunities for Latinas are so few that many are willing to cover their own transportation costs to access the rare resources Teatro Luna provides. The Luna ladies are deeply committed to creating a national network of support for female theater artists of color, and have been honored to work with Elaine Romero, Caridad Svich, Marisela Treviño Orta, and others as a result. Three to four of the upcoming LUNADAS staged readings will feature New York based playwrights, broadening its foundation on the East Coast and setting in motion plans for a 15th Anniversary world premiere in New York in Spring 2015.

In addition to this explosion of bicoastal expansion, Teatro Luna is launching TLTV - a video series featuring comedy, interviews, music, commentary on current events, and original performances broadcast on the web nationwide, in an effort to better engage their growing community and fans they meet all around the country while on tour with their original performances.

WHAT: Living Large in A Mini Kind of Way a new play presented by TEATRO LUNA

HOW MUCH: $12-$40 available online, over the phone, and at the door, visit www.teatroluna.org to purchase or call 773.819.5862

***
About Diane Rodriguez

Playright & Director of Living Large In a Mini Kind of Way, Diane Rodriguez
Schooled in activist art, Diane Rodriguez is an acclaimed American theatre artist based in Los Angeles. She has directed and developed the new work of some of the most prominent new playwrights in the last fifteen years including Nilo Cruz, Lynn Nottage, and Migdalia Cruz, among many others.

With Luis Alfaro, Rodriguez co-wrote Los Vecinos: A Play for Neighbors and The Ballad of Ginger Esparza. For ten years, she was a resident artist and Director of the Latino Theatre Initiative at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Currently, she is Associate Producer and Director of New Play Production for the Center Theatre Group. In 2007, she won an Off-Broadway OBIE Award in performance (Best Ensemble). She was awarded a NEA/TCG Early Career Director Development Award in 1998, and in 2003 as well as 2007 she was awarded a TCG/NEA New Generations Mentorship grant. She received a Directors/Choreographers Foundation Award in 1997 to support the direction of her play Los Vecinos.
About Teatro Luna
Teatro Luna is Chicago’s only all-Latina theatre dedicated to creating original devised and single-author work by Latinas that honors Latina lives and showcases the talents of Latina/Hispana artists.

Founded in 2000, Teatro Luna is dedicated to expanding the range of Latina/Hispana roles visible on the Chicago stage and beyond. Some of our most well-known work includes: Generic Latina, The Maria Chronicles, S-E-X-Oh!, Lunatic(a)s, Machos, GL2010: Not Your Generic Latina, & Crossed (Immigrant = Mexican?). TL tours colleges/universities, festivals and venues across the country with a blend of ensemble-created performances, workshops, and lectures.

Central to its mission is Teatro Luna’s commitment to nurture Latina talent and develop new plays, and this is primarily served by our ambitious Luna Labs. Additionally, our education department offers unique year-round programs to both Adult Women of Color and Youth. Teatro Luna is the country’s only Pan-Latina Theatre Company to have a physical home. Come and spend some time with the Ladies of Luna at Luna Central: An Arts Center for New & Diverse Work - 3914. N Clark St.

He filed for divorce in April but Marc Anthony is not asking Jennifer Lopez for financial support. The divorce between the Q’Viva! The Chosen judges will be civil and no custody battle will be taking place.

“The parties are working together to reach a friendly resolution that’s in the best interest of their children,” Ron Anteau, Lopez’s family law attorney, explained to PEOPLE.

Anteau spoke to PEOPLE in an effort to dispel the nasty rumors that have been circulating. According to gossip, Anthony suspected that his ex was putting away money in offshore accounts.

“He’s not seeking financial support from her in this divorce. Never has, never will,” an insider disclosed.

“This is about trying to figure out how best for two very busy parents to share their children,” the source continued.

The proud parents of twins, Max and Emme, announced their unfortunate breakup last July. The couple had been married since 2004.

When Anthony officially filed for divorce earlier this month, he cited irreconcilable differences. According to PEOPLE, the document listed the singers’ separation date as “to be determined.”

Anthony is not looking for a battle but he did request joint legal and physical custody of their 4-year-olds. He is also making sure the court denies the American Idol judge spousal support if requested.

Since ending their marriage, the former couple has successfully maintained a professional relationship for their talent competition show, Q’Viva! The Chosen.

Lopez has moved on to dating dancer Casper Smart. The tattooed 25-year-old appears in her steamy music video for her new single, “Dance Again”.

Rising from the stage and seeming to struggle with his microphone, Mr. Worldwide opened the show with a two-song set. After performing “Sube las Manos Pa’ Arriba,” Pit was joined on stage by his Dominican protégé Sensato. The two tore it up with their infectious Spanglish rap track, “Loca People.”

Relics of six Knights of Columbus canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000 will launch a tour of several American cities Friday, April 27, in Houston. The Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston will host the relics beginning with a special Mass Friday evening for the Knights of Columbus Texas State Convention. The relics will remain in the church for veneration during the regularly scheduled weekend Masses.

The six priests — Fathers Pedro de Jesus Maldonado Lucero, Miguel de la Mora de la Mora, Jose Maria Robles Hurtado, Luis Batiz Sainz, Rodrigo Aguilar Aleman, and Mateo Correa Magallanes — were all martyred for their faith by the Mexican government during the religious persecution in Mexico in the early 20th century.

Thousands of the faithful turned out in 2005 for a previous pilgrimage of these relics in cities around the United States — from Dallas to Philadelphia to Los Angeles.

“For many years, this period of history has been all but forgotten on both sides of the border,” said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. “This year, with the release of both a major motion picture and a book on this subject, the story of the struggle for religious freedom in Mexico will begin to be told. It is our hope that the pilgrimage of these relics will remind us all of the sacrifices made on behalf of religious liberty on this continent less than 100 years ago. It is a timely reminder that — from Ancient Rome to 1920s Mexico to today — persecution does not stifle the faith, but emboldens it.”

For Greater Glory — a film being released June 1 — takes the history of this period to the big screen with an all-star cast including Andy Garcia, Peter O’Toole and Eva Longoria.

During the persecution of Catholics in Mexico by President Plutarco Elas Calles, the Knights of Columbus stood in solidarity with Catholics in Mexico raising funds for humanitarian relief of those displaced and for the education of the American public regarding the horrific facts of the persecution. A delegation of the Knights of Columbus met with President Calvin Coolidge in 1926 to discuss ways in which the U.S. government could influence the Mexican government to end the persecution.

Despite the support of the Calles regime and its anti-Catholic policies by the a number of American groups — including the Ku Klux Klan — the pressure brought by the Knights of Columbus and others had an effect and, in 1929, the U.S. government helped broker an agreement between the Mexican government and the Catholic Church, ending the worst of the persecution.

Relics have long been a part of Catholic devotional practice. Since the days of the Apostles, Christians have preserved and honored the physical remains of men and women recognized as saints.

The Knights of Columbus is active throughout the United States and Mexico – as well worldwide in Asia, Europe, and throughout North America Knights number more than 1.8 million members worldwide.

As the U.S. Supreme Court takes up Arizona’s controversial immigration enforcement law, the violent drug war in Mexico continues, with the death toll over the past six years exceeding 50,000. Supporters of the Arizona law often talk about violence spilling over the border, but there has been very little impact on the U.S. side, where trade and tourism continue in spite of all the bad press. The biggest complaints there have to do with the economy.

A view of tranquility

People who live on the hillside in Nogales, Arizona look out on Mexico every day, and all looks tranquil.

Yet resident Mary Darling-McCune says people she meets in other parts of Arizona think her town is a danger zone. “Oh, they are horrified that I live down here, horrified.”

She believes hundreds of U.S. Border Patrol and other federal agents help to reduce crime, but she says she also feels comfortable going to Nogales, Mexico now and then.

“Even to be able to walk down the hill and cross over into Mexico to have lunch, which we frequently have done,” Darling-McCuneI explained. “I do not feel that I am in any grave danger.”

But some of her neighbors are more cautious. Maria Duran, who was born in Mexico and often visits family there, keeps her home on the Arizona side. “I obtained legal residence and I live here very pleasantly. It is safe,” she stated.

This wall, constructed of steel pilings, separates the two cities.

U.S. law enforcement officials say construction of the wall has helped them to control illegal entry and drug trafficking in the town.

Most smuggling now happens in remote desert areas along the border.

But the image conveyed by the wall has had an impact on local people.

Economic woes

On one side of the border, in Nogales, Mexico, the economy has taken a beating because so few Americans are coming over now to make purchases at local pharmacies and stores.

A few years ago, these streets were crowded with American tourists, many of whom came to buy inexpensive medicine.

But pharmacy owner Sylvia says her business is now struggling to survive. “The business has changed a lot, sales are down,” she said. “There hasn’t been much tourism.”

She blames the economic downturn in the United States and the recent requirement that U.S. citizens crossing the border carry a passport, as well as lurid news reports about violence in Mexico. “Newspapers in the United States say there is a lot of violence in Mexico. This is a lie,” she said.

Although there have been some major crimes related to drug trafficking, she says Nogales is not like other Mexican border towns.

Two-way trade

But while local retailers may be struggling, Nogales plays a part in what amounts to a boom in bi-national trade.

Trains hauling goods to and from Mexico cross the border several times a day, along with hundreds of trucks, representing close to $20 billion in annual two-way trade at Nogales.

And that is just part of the overall $460 billion in overall U.S.-Mexico trade that gives officials in both countries reasons to keep the border orderly and secure.

Singer and actor Ricky Martin was nominated Friday for a Drama Desk Award in the category of Outstanding Actor in a Musical, for his role in the current Broadway revival of “Evita.”

“Thank u! What a way 2 srt my day!,” the star said on Twitter.

Martin will compete for the prestigious prize with Raul Esparza for “Leap of Faith,” Danny Burstein for “Follies,” Kevin Earley for “Death Takes a Holiday,” Jeremy Jordan for “Newsies The Musical” and Norm Lewis for “The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess.”

“Evita” also had another three nominations in the categories of Outstanding Revival of a Musical, Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical - Michael Cerveris, for his role as Gen. Juan Peron - and Outstanding Choreography.

This is Martin’s second award nomination for playing “Che” in the musical, having been nominated for a Drama League Award early this week for his performance in “Evita.”

The Puerto Rican has put his successful musical career on hold to concentrate on his return to the Broadway stage, where he debuted in 1995 as a supporting actor in “Los Miserables.”